Bombshell or Bomb?

We’ve all seen it, blondes can either be bombshells like Marilyn Monroe, or they can just bomb like some of the young Hollywood crowd that shall remain nameless. To avoid mishaps, I always ask two questions, “Cool or Warm?” and “Dark or Light?”

Cool or warm? Does your guest look better in a bright pink shirt or bright orange shirt? If bright pink, their skin tone is cool and best tones are icy blondes or cool blondes that have no yellow or gold. If they look better in orange, then golden warm blondes are best for their skin tone. Light or dark? If they look better in pink, then try burgundy-if the pink looks better, stay lighter and go blonde…if the burgundy looks better, try a cool rich brunette to prevent washing out their skin tone. If they look best in bright orange, try a deep copper/brown shirt. Bright orange looks great with golden highlights, or go strawberry blonde. If deep copper brown looks best, take the leap and try to convince them to be an amazing redhead.

To keep the looks natural I like to maintain depth and create natural looking highlights with modern baliage and ombré techniques, then I advise the guest to have a glaze applied between highlight appointments to maintain shine, richness or minimize brassiness. Their schedule looks like this: Week 1: highlights and hair cut, Week 5-6: hair cut and glaze, Week 10-12: highlights and hair cut. And if their really fighting the brassy because they love the sun and hate the hats, at home, shampoo once a week with Matrix Total Results Color Care So Silver and kiss the brass goodbye.

So many stylists skip the at home maintenance conversation, but the truth is, your guest is a walking advertisement for you, so if their hair looks bad between appointments, people will think it’s your doing. We all have guests that say their color doesn’t last when we know it’s because they haven’t taken proper care of it, so take the time to discuss maintenance and your work will look better longer and be your best advertisement!

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About the Author:

Patrick McIvor

As one of the most respected colorists in the industry, the former Color Director for Nick Arrojo and Rodney Culter in NYC, is a cultural junkie inspired by international cosmopolitan influences from fashion and global trends to technology. He specializes in social media and salonable haircolor, and creates new experiential educational formats highlighting technology, technique and culture. The ideas he shares with stylists build business and connects them with community so they can “Take Back The Social Network.”